Ashcroft defends his policies:
Ashcroft said the furor over many of his anti-terrorism policies has been overblown, in part because the measures sound more sweeping than they really are. One example he cited was the order allowing the monitoring of attorney-client conversations, which he said currently applies to just over a dozen prisoners and includes substantial oversight to ensure that their rights are not violated.
"The more you know about them, the more you support them," Ashcroft said.
It's true, I'm a little less offended by this right now, but freedom always escapes in gradual doses. Just remember the Sixteenth Amendment, promised only to apply to 1% of the population.
Far more alarming than Ashcroft's policies, however, is the warm acceptance of them by the sheeple:
A new survey by The Washington Post and ABC News shows, however, that six in 10 people agree that suspected terrorists should be tried in special military tribunals and not in U.S. criminal courts. Three of four surveyed also agree that it should be legal for the federal government to wiretap conversations between suspected terrorists and their attorneys.
To clarify, I don't think the measures are unconstitutional, but I also don't think that road leads us anywhere good.
Posted by wasylik at December 3, 2001 12:33 AM | TrackBack